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In reply to the discussion: 'The magic's too expensive': Disney is 'pricing out loyal customers' by targeting more affluent fami [View all]Takket
(21,564 posts)hoping most of the good stuff like meet and greets and shows are back by then, because my loved one is disabled and does very few rides.
No doubt, it is expensive, but we have not had a vacation in two years by the time we go. It's a special place for both of us, we had our wedding there, and it is one of the few places out in public where my loved one feels at ease both from a physical and mental standpoint.
THAT being said, the prices have increased almost exponentially. I'm aghast every time I see the new price on something (the holloween after party this year has more than doubled compared to just two or three years ago. Not something we do anyway, since I rather detest Halloween.
There have been rumors this was coming for ages and a multi-billion dollar pandemic induced loss, coupled with people desperate to make up for lost vacationing time, has allowed disney to "pour fuel" on the fire of price hikes. When the Halloween prices came out I said to my wife. That's insane, how can they charge that much... and then "but honestly, they will sell every ticket they make available." And sure enough, they do. Most of the Halloween parties are already sold out.
I once heard a theory about selling ticket to sporting events. Someone said "if your stadium is sold out, you aren't charging enough for tickets." In other words you can keep raising prices until people stop showing up.
Disney has decided that selling to families willing to come once every few years is more valuable then selling to everyone. What that means is "Hey, if the average person is spending $500 per trip here now, and we can increase that to $1000 per person and still 75% as many people show up, we make more money AND reduce the crowds so people are happier." And the parks have been TERRIBLY overcrowded before the pandemic. I can attest to that.
Now... just because Disney is jacking up the prices for their rooms and tickets and food, does NOT mean you can't afford to visit there. It just means if you are on a budget you probably can't stay on their property. But there are still plenty of hotels off property, you can rent a car, you can eat at cost friendly family restaurants. Load up on continental breakfast, pack snacks for the park, and have a big dinner at the end of the night. They only thing you really HAVE to buy from Disney is the park tickets.